From Dusk to Dawn
by prancingcow
Summary: With the birth of her nephew, Lightning Farron begins to wonder if she should open a new chapter in her life. (Image from topdesktop)
1. Chapter 1

The newest member to the Villiers-Farron family had finally arrived after waiting for 235 days, 12 hours, 41 minutes and 29 seconds, and yes the seconds were indeed counted.

Lieutenant Lightning Farron still could not believe it despite being by her sister's side offering moral support and a hand to be crushed after a nameless hero had an argument with gravity.

The former leader of the group of l'Cie, considered heroes ever since the Fall five years ago, was now an aunt. And her sister, Lightning had cared for so long, was a mother.

Perhaps what Lightning still and most likely will never fathom was that her big buffoon of a brother-in-law was a father. A father! He must be the most… second most… okay, third most stubborn person she knew.

A stubborn idiot to boot.

It was only two months ago he and the other male members of NORA tried to bring down an oretortoise. During mating season no less!

To this day Lightning still believes it was divine intervention that saved them from being flattened by the angry giant males.

Sadly, Etro had no sympathy for Lightning, her co-workers and Fang when it came to ensuring the sleepy seaside town's safety. It had taken the better part of the day to steer the beasts away from the town.

How, on Etro's throne, could someone like him be a parent?!

Sure he's more than capable of defending the people he loves and is always determined to do the right thing. That had been apparent in their travels as l'Cie.

He and his friends did work day and night for three months to build a new home for Serah, him and the baby. And he's been able to provide for Serah with his carpentering, which he's surprisingly good at.

Throughout her pregnancy Serah always told Lightning how Snow looked after her, went to every doctor's appointment, built all of the baby equipment in the nursery and took care of all Serah's cravings.

Now that Lightning thought about it. Snow did say Serah was craving for oretortoise tail soup at the time of the oretortoise incident.

Lightning had seen how well Snow was with the children in town. She wasn't going to admit out loud, but the fact was that big, stubborn, caring blockhead would make a good father.

The only thing was that Snow could be a little… what's the word... brainless at times. And that bothered Lightning. She didn't want the child to grow up with…

"Claire?" A tired voice broke Lightning's chain of thought.

Glancing across the room, Lightning realised how deep in thought she had actually been. Didn't even hear when others arrived.

Next to Lightning stood Lebreau and idiot two, Gadot. Standing between the two and the door were Sazh and Lightning's protege, Hope. The two native Pulsians stood at the foot of the bed. The rest of the NORA members were on the other side of the bed. Snow, who was holding an ice pack to the back of his head, was the only one sitting.

It was only when Lightning's eyes landed on Serah she saw how exhausted the new mother was.

Her eyes wandered down to the sleeping newborn in Serah's arms. He was wrapped in a light blue blanket.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." Lightning answered.

"I hope it's not about work, soldier girl." Everyone chuckled to Sazh's little comment except for Serah, who didn't see pleased at the idea.

"No, not this time." Someone else had spoken something, but Lightning didn't hear it. All she could hear was the soft breathing of her nephew.

Etro! The famous fal'Cie slayer was an aunt. Aunt. Perhaps he'll call her Aunt Lightning. No, that didn't sound right to the normally unemotional soldier.

It was at that moment Lightning realised she had only seen glimpses of her nephew. As soon as his umbilical cord was cut, a nurse had whisked him away to be checked. Lightning had been tempted to follow the nurse. Just to make sure she wasn't stealing him away from his rightful family. But she chose against it, with Snow still out who else did Serah have.

When the nurse returned, he was wrapped in a blanket and handed over to his mother. But by then Lightning was already too caught up in her own thoughts to notice.

"May I hold him?" All eyes fell on the stoic soldier who asked as if scared the answer was going to be no.

Serah gave a small smile before offering the baby to her older sister. "Of course, you can."

With a little guidance from Serah, Lightning gently placed her arms around the sleeping newborn and lifted him up slowly not to wake him. She held him in her arms as if he was the most fragile thing in the world, which he was as far as Lightning was concerned.

With one look, she could see he was going to grow up looking a lot like his father. A faint smile appeared on Lightning's face when she noticed a small patch of pink hair sticking out of the blanket.

Fang, who's eyes had been on Lightning majority of her time there, leaned back against the wall. "Just think, sunshine. In a few years time, you can start teaching the little squirt to beat up his blockhead of a father." Snow's protests were quickly shadowed by everyone's laughter. Lightning chuckled.

"Alright!" Sazh opened the door. "Time to give Serah much earned rest. Everyone save for Snow and Light, out!" Protest started to fly, but Sazh raised his hand silencing them.

He had gone through this before and knew how tiresome childbirth could be. Dahj's birth had taken well over seven hours and he had been tired just from watching. "There's enough time to see the baby once Serah is well rested."

Though Serah hadn't said anything, it was clear she had been thankful of Sazh.

They had been too caught up with the baby to notice Serah was using all of her remaining strength to stay awake.

Fang began gently guiding people towards the door. "The old man's right. Everyone out."

However, Vanille had been reluctant to move from her spot. "What about his name?!" Vanille shouted, startling everybody, even herself. It hadn't been her intention to shout, she just got a little anxious. "Can we at least know his name?" The petite red hair spoke more calmly.

Much to Vanille's disappointment the name had been the one of the things Serah and Snow didn't seem to agree on throughout the pregnancy. It was the one thing she HAD to know before leaving.

How could she stitch his name into the countless blankets, pillowcases, onesies and hats she had made for the past four months if she didn't know his name? Truth be told the petite Pulsian may have gone overboard with the responsibility of being goddess-mother.

Placing the ice pack down on the side table next to the bed, Snow took his wife's hand. With a smile and a nod, Serah gave him the honour of announcing.

"We were actually thinking about naming him Daniel." Snow continued, hesitantly. "If that's already right with you, sis."

Wishing she had asked her sister beforehand; Serah squeezed her husband's hand in anticipation.

With a smile on her face, Lightning eased the couples' worries. "Of course, it is. And I'm sure dad would have liked it too." Looking back at Daniel, she quickly added. "And I'm not your sister." That had earned a few chuckles.

With Vanille's curiosity satisfied, everyone congratulated the new parents once again, and with the herding skills of Fang left the room one by one.

The party had been too engrossed with the talk about the celebration party at Lebreau's, the bar owner had announced, to take notice that Fang had stayed behind.

After closing the door on the youngest NORA member, the tall Pulsian walked up next to Lightning.

With her body barely touching Lightning's, Fang leaned over Lightning's shoulder.

"Couldn't wait, I see. Impatient as always." Lightning glanced at Fang.

Much to Fang's delight, Lightning didn't seem to care that Fang was invading her personal space.

"How else can I get this close to you without you smacking me?" Fang grinned seeing Lightning rolling her eyes.

Lightning turned to face Fang better. "That happened once."

Actually it had been four times, three times during their l'Cie days and fourth soon after Fang and Vanille had awakened, but Fang didn't feel like correcting her.

"He looks a bit like Snow." Fang glanced towards Snow, brushing few of the strayed hairs from his wife's face who had finally fallen asleep. "Will you be joining the celebration at Lebreau's or be staying here?"

Lightning answered softly. "I don't know." She paused to think. "I might stay."

Fang stood back, her eyes fixated on the soldier. "Alright." Fang couldn't help but admit she enjoyed the sight of Lightning holding a baby. With a smile, Fang continued. "I'll keep your spot clear, just in case you change your mind."

Her spot. It had started little after Serah's and Snow's wedding the two former l'Cie would show up at Lebreau's bar and talk about their day with a couple cold beers.

It had been become such a daily routine that recently a bucket full of bottles and ice would be on the table waiting.

After sensing Fang was still staring, Lightning glanced up. The smile on the Pulsian lips confused Lightning. "What?"

"It's just…" Fang shook her head. "Nothing. I should go and make sure Vanille isn't making anything more for him." Fang bend over to the baby Lightning was holding. "Now you be good to your Aunt Claire." After congratulating Snow for one last time, Fang left the room.

Aunt Claire. Aunt. Claire.

Lightning had liked the sound of it.

But no auntie Claire, she thought.

As if the newborn had read her thoughts, little Daniel opened his bright blue eyes and his gaze connected with Lightning's. It was at that moment auntie Claire knew she had caved. He could call her whatever he wanted.

"Hey." Lightning whispered. Unsure what to say.

What does one say to a newborn? Besides that annoying baby talk that everyone seems to do. She won't be doing that! Absolutely not!

Daniel yawned.

'Look at him!' Lightning thought. 'He's so cute with his big baby blues, his little nose and his little mouth. Who's a cute baby? You are. Yes, you are. You're a…'

A voice once again broke Lightning's chain of thought. "Is he awake?"

Chills went down Lightning's spine. She wasn't speaking out loud, was she? If she had, Snow seemed to have enough sense not to mention it.

"Yeah. Just woke up." Lightning watched as Snow got up from his chair and slowly walked around the bed to Lightning. She saw the fatigue on Snow's face as he approached.

It hadn't surprised her since Snow was with Lightning at the construction site of the new Guardian Corps base when the news that Serah had finally gone to labour after being overdue for two weeks.

After the five years of training recruits to fight beasts on Pul… Gran Pulse, she had never seen someone panic as much as Snow had. Even the rookie who had climbed a tree and soiled himself when a pack of gorgonopsid appeared seemed less freaked out. To be honest if it wasn't for her Guardian training, Lightning would also have forgotten the velocycle she had arrived in, and started running the near nine mile journey to the hospital as Snow had.

Snow gently stroked his son's cheek. "Hey there."

Lightning watched the interaction between the two Villiers generations.

"Snow." Snow was a little nervous upon seeing the seriousness in Lightning's eyes. "Promise me, you'll always care for him, love him and, most importantly, never leave him. He needs a father."

Had anyone else been standing with them, they would have assumed Lightning thought Snow would abandon his wife and son. However, Snow knew better, Serah had told him about their father's death and how close he and Lightning had been. The stoic soldier just didn't want her nephew be without a father, like she and Serah had.

With a little more determination in his voice, he spoke. "I promise you, Light, I will never leave or stop loving them. I'll do right by them."

After a quick glance at her sleeping sister, Lightning slowly handed Daniel over to Snow. "I believe you."

She noticed how natural it came to Snow to hold his son. "I'll give you some time alone." Lightning began to walk towards the door.

"Light?" Lightning turned to face Snow as she opened the door. "I just want to say, thanks. Thanks for being there. I know Serah appreciated you being here. So thanks again." With a nod Lightning left the room.

* * *

A/N: Hoped you enjoyed it to some extent. This multi-chapter fic - yes sadly it's not an one-shot, please endure a little more - was inspired by a prompt in fangrai-february. Don't remember the number, but it's the one about our heroines watching a sunset. Yes, yes, I know there wasn't any in this chapter. But bear with.

Also, sorry for my poor grammar. I, personally, enjoy reading something that's grammatically correct. But as soon as I start writing, I turn into Yoda, just less green and taller. Actually I'm more like the Cookie monster. Hmm, cookie have I must. Cookies!


	2. Chapter 2

Lightning had heard the stories from her co-workers. So, she knew that this moment eventually would come.

She just wasn't expecting it this soon. It was only two weeks ago that Serah and Daniel were released from the hospital.

Perhaps it's just a one off, she thought tapping the kitchen counter.

But what if her suspicions were right? What if it was happening to her baby sister? How often was Lightning wrong? Never. She was never wrong if you don't count the times she was.

Without any further hesitation, Lightning grabbed her phone from the counter and called her sister.

The phone had rung four times before a drowsy voice answered. "Hello?"

"Serah. It's me. Listen, are you okay? Feeling fine?"

"Claire, stop worrying." Serah spoke while yawning. "I'm perfectly fine."

She walked through the archway connecting the kitchen to the living room. "Are you sure?"

"I had a baby." Another yawn. "Not surgery."

"Yes, I know that." Lightning stood next to her new couch which was currently occupied by a half naked blonde. "I'm just asking because a few minutes ago, your husband walked into my house, wearing only his robe and boxers, asking where the diapers were before collapsing on my couch."

There was a slight pause on the line. "Did he break your couch?"

That hadn't been the response Lightning was expecting. "No, he didn't. But tha…"

"Then what's the problem." Either Serah wasn't fully awake or Snow has a habit of walking into someone's house half naked.

"The problem is that a half naked Snow is sleeping on my couch." Lightning had never thought she would ever say my couch, Snow and half naked in the same sentence before. There was a faint cry in the background. "Serah?"

"He's crying again." The tired mother began to weep. "Why won't he stop? All day and night. He just won't stop crying. I feed him. I burp him. Change his diapers." Serah spoke not giving Lightning a chance to speak. "Diapers! Snow went out to get diapers, but he hasn't come back. Do you think he's dead somewhere?! I don't have the strength to be a single parent!"

Rubbing her temple, Lightning foolishly tried to soothe her sister's worries. "That's what I have been trying to tell you. Snow is sleeping on my couch."

She almost could hear the gears turning in Serah's head. If only they were turning in the right direction.

"Why is he there?! Are you two having an affair!?" Staring at her phone in disbelief, Lightning could still hear her clearly mentally unstable sister rave on. "How could you? You're my sister! We have a child together!"

Using the voice normally reserved for ill-behaved soldiers and the NORA members, Lightning was determined to end this ridiculous conversation, which she regretted ever having. "Serah! I am not. I repeat. Not! Having an affair with Snow!" She glanced down at the snoozing giant. He must have fallen into a deep sleep not to have woken up.

Lightning took a deep breath before continuing in the calmer tone. "Now, listen. You go take care of Daniel, and I'll pick up the diapers and bring them over. Okay?" The line went silence. "I can't see you nod, Serah."

"Okay. I am sorry." Lightning's heart nearly broke hearing how fragile Serah sounded.

"It's okay. I'll see you soon." To Lightning's relief, Serah hanged up.

The signs were there: yawning, denial, crying, delirious behaviour and Snow's current state.

It was what she had feared. Her sister and brother-in-law were the victims of sleep deprivation.

There was only one thing Lightning could do. She had to watch Daniel for the day while the two tired parents got some shuteye. Fortunately for them, Major Amodar had strongly insisted that Lightning would take the next few days off. Threatening to have her salary cut was a little excessive.

Lightning placed the phone in her pocket. "Right. First things first."

She had intended to leave Snow where he was, but seeing a droplet gathering at the corner of his mouth changed her mind. There was no way she was going to have her new king behemoth leather couch ruined by man drool. It was her favourite piece of furniture after all.

With a quick jerk of his arm, Snow landed flat on his face. The growl indicating that he was awake brought a smile to Lightning's face. Seeing him in pain never got old.

The drowsy Snow squinted at the pink haired blub. "Serah? Wait, Lightning? When did you arrive?" It was only when Snow took a look around the room; he noticed that his clotted, purple coloured living room was replaced with Lightning's black and white colour scheme. "How... how did I get here?"

"You don't remember coming here, do you?" Snow shook his head. "You left to get diapers but along the way you ended up on my couch."

Snow didn't seem to notice that his robe was open and was showing off all, thankful not all, of his manly glory. Either, he was too sleepy to notice, or he just didn't care that he was in his mangy two day old boxers face-to-face with his sister-in-law.

Unfortunately for Lightning, she had seen worse.

'Truly what is it with men and not changing their underpants?' Lightning thought of her eight weeks at training base. A chill went down her spine when Fredrick Perkins and his lack of personal hygiene came to mind.

"I guess I have to go to the store then." Snow slowly walked towards the front door, but was stopped by Lightning as she grabbed his arm causing him to him stumble backwards.

"Wait a moment." Lightning steadied the big buffoon from falling. "The only place you're going to is my bed."

Snow stared at his wife's older sister before his eyebrows shot up. "Light! I understand that you might feel lonely…" Lightning's eyebrow arched. "…but I'm happily married with Serah."

Snow felt a hard smack on the back of his head. "I didn't mean it like that!" She let out a deep breath. "You and Serah clearly need to sleep. I am offering to watch Daniel for the day. So, the two of you can rest." Snow nodded at Lightning apologetically.."Now, get to bed before I knock you out right here."

As Snow ventured up the stair to her queen-size bed, the annoyed soldier wished she had listened to Serah and made her spare room to a guest bedroom rather than an office. Hindsight is always 20/20.

The idea of Snow sleeping between her soft cotton sheets displeased her immensely. First thing tomorrow Lightning was going the burn them. Maybe the mattress as way.

Taking her phone out, she dialled Hope's number. It was still early in the morning which meant Hope would be just arriving to work.

Grabbing her keys, Lightning left her house just as the phone was answered. She left out the pleasantries and went straight to business. "Hope, could you meet me at Serah's in twenty minutes?"

"Sure. Is everything already?" Hope's concerned voice come through the receiver.

"Everything is fine. I'll explain when we meet up." Lightning slowly backed her velocycle out of her driveway trying not to hit Snow's truck. She couldn't figure out how he was able to drive in his state.

She estimated the whole trip wouldn't last long, but how wrong she was.

Lightning never knew there were so many types of diapers. And the sheer number of different brands was over whelming. Every shelf in the aisle was full of diapers.

How was that possible? Was there such a high demand for them? Sure, they were going through a baby boom period, but the amount of diapers implied that everyone was having a baby. And last time Lightning checked she wasn't having a baby.

It took five minutes for Lightning to sieve through the selection till she found the nappies she needed. And of course that actually meant she watched what the parent with the month old baby took and grabbed the same.

But the real problem came when she stood in front of the baby formulas. With no parent in sight, Lightning knew she was in it for the long haul.

Was she going to take a powdered formula or a liquid one? One with more iron in it or one with more calcium? And what about the potassium one? One that helped to promote a healthy digestive system or the baby's immune system?

The idea of forget about the whole formula was alluring, but she didn't know if Serah bottled her breast milk or not. It wasn't something Lightning had ever thought she needed, much less wanted, to ask.

After the painstaking progress of comparing the different products, she finally narrowed it down to two liquid formulas and chose the one with a smiling baby on it. Packaging never lies. Right?

It might have taken her over forty minutes, but Lightning finally arrived at Serah's and Snow's two-story home.

At first glance externally their homes were very similar, which she assumed was the reason Snow ended up at her place since he had to drive by it to get to the store. In his confused state, Snow must have thought it was home.

The noticeable difference between the two houses was that Lightning didn't have a shed next to hers. Almost certainly Snow hadn't noticed it was missing.

Lightning parked her velocycle beside the GC sedan in the driveway. Noting the vehicle was empty; Lightning took the groceries and headed inside.

Even thought the houses were similar architecturally, the interior couldn't be any more different.

While Lightning's had a military feel, the Villiers-Farron's screamed 'Warning! People live here!' as soon as you walked through the front door.

The Villiers-Farrons had something hanging off of every wall. There were paintings of different landscapes, pictures of family and friends, and there was even a Pulsian artefact dating back before the War of Transgression hanging in the living room. No one had yet to find out where Serah had gotten it.

Lightning was more of a minimalist, enjoying the simpler designs. The cream coloured walls were bare, except in her office where she hanged all of her gunblades she had collected over the years. Whatever pictures she had were safely hidden away in her bedroom or office.

In the living room Lightning found the two remaining residents and Hope. Sitting on the couch was Hope enjoying a cup of coffee. In the middle of the room, gently rocking the sleeping baby in her arms, stood Serah.

"Claire!" Due to lack of sleep, Serah had big bags under her eyes. The mentor and subordinate nodded to each other. "What are you doing here? Hope came to visit. Isn't that kind of him?"

Lightning placed her purchases on the ground before walking over to her sister. "I told you over the phone that I'll be over." She slowly took Daniel into her arms. "I want to you go up stairs, packs some clean clothes for Snow and yourself." Lightning glanced down at Serah's messy shirt. "And perhaps change your shirt, as well. Hope is going to drop you off at my place where you'll be spending the day."

Before Serah started protesting, assuming she had the energy to, Lightning guided her towards the stairs in the hallway. "Don't worry, I'll watch him."

After some hesitations and a stern look from Lightning, Serah finally headed up to her bedroom.

Once back in the living room Lightning grabbed the wooden rocker, Snow had made for Daniel, from the floor and sat it on the coffee table. Placing the now woken infant in the rocker, Lightning saw Hope walk back in the living room after putting the formulas into fridge.

"You want me to take Serah to your place?" Hope had only arrived ten minutes before Lightning had, but it was enough time to see Serah needed help. She had asked him twice if he wanted something to drink as he was drinking his coffee.

Lightning give a nod as she rocked Daniel back and forth. "Afterwards I want you to take a small team of four and do a sweep of the perimeter of the construction site. There was a sighting of a group of goblins yesterday evening. The construction is already behind schedule due to Snow's paternity leave. We don't need them delaying the build any more than it is, just because someone can't build a fence correctly."

Hope would be lying if he said he wasn't excited about getting the chance to fight again or even getting to lead his own team. It wasn't like he hadn't seen enough action before, because he has seen enough as an l'Cie. However for some time now, he has been acting more like Lightning's secretary then a member of the Guardian Corp.

Being given this opportunity meant Lightning trusted his skills as a soldier and, more importantly, his leadership skills. That meant more to him than any medals or awards.

The nineteen year old still hadn't grown out of idolising Lightning. It was the reason why he enlisted into the Guardian Corp, as soon as he turned eighteen. Under Lightning's wing, he was promoted to corporal in less than six months and then to sergeant ten weeks ago.

"Will that be all?" Watching as Daniel enjoyed his ride with great enthusiasm, Lightning gave Hope a nod.

Hope excused himself as he went to his car. He had taken Lightning's morning mail and brought it with him just in case. No doubt they were more requisition orders. It has always amazed Hope how often people lose something of importance such as keys to the armoury or once even a transport vehicle.

Upon return, Hope placed the small pile of envelopes on the coffee table.

As they waited for Serah to come down, Lightning and Hope spoke about work and, well, work. Several minutes into their conversation it was obvious Serah wasn't coming down.

"Watch him." Lightning headed up to the master bedroom where she found Serah leaning against the door of the large wooden wardrobe with her shirt over her head. At first it seemed like she had somehow gotten her right arm stuck, but the light snoozing told Lightning, Serah had fallen asleep while dressing herself.

Being given a light shake, the startled Serah shouted. "Daniel!" With her sister's help, Serah finally got her shirt on.

Placing her head on Lightning's shoulder, Serah wept. "I'm a horrible mother! He doesn't love me! He'll never love me! All he does is cry!"

Wrapping her arms around her little sister, Lightning tried to comfort her. "Don't be silly. He loves you. He's a baby; he'll grow out of it. "

"He always cries when I hold him. He never cries with you." Lightning patted Serah's back.

"He wasn't crying when I came in." Serah's weeping stopped. "You're a terrific mother to Daniel. His eyes light up when he sees you." Lightning thought was best not to mention that he lit up whenever he saw something pink regardless of shape.

Serah looked straight into Lightning's eyes to if she was lying. "Really?"

Lightning wiped the tears underneath Serah's puffy eyes. "Serah, I wouldn't lie about something like that." She glanced at the duffle bag on the bed. "Did you pack already?" Serah nodded.

Lightning grabbed the bag and headed down the stairs with Serah in tow. She informed Serah about the towels and food in the fridge, and ensured the worried mother that Daniel would be fine under her care.

How difficult could it be to watch her nephew for a day? She was the infamous Lightning Farron, who single-ha…with the help of her friends took down the evil fal'Cie, Barthandelus.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Lightning's confidence didn't waver as Serah told her a detailed description on how to care for Daniel.

Now, when Lightning had told Hope to watch Daniel, she didn't mean the two should have a staring competition. But that was precisely what she found in the living room.

Lightning cleared her throat, which resulted in Hope's defeat when he looked up. Almost as if he knew he had won, Daniel let out a cheery giggle.

It took some more persuasion till mama bear agreed to abandon, as Serah had put it, her young. The final push was when the evil aunt, as Serah had put it, threatened to have her minion, as Lightning had put it, tie Serah up and drag her there.

Finally alone with Daniel, Lightning decided to have a look at the pile of mail.

In his rocker, the curious baby tried to grab the unknown white blob held by the pink blob which looked like mommy blob but didn't sound the same. Despite his best efforts, the white blob was just out of his reach.

'Confounded holding device! Just a little more and then it will be mine to drool on!' Daniel giggled menacingly. 'Oh! Something shiny!' Forgetting his aunt's mail altogether, he began to reach for the keys on the coffee table.

Obvious to the inner thoughts of her nephew, Lightning sieved through the mail. 'Great more requisition orders.'

An envelope with Amodar's handwriting caught her eye. Much to Daniel's disappointment, Lightning dropped the rest of the mail on top of the keys in order to open Amodar's letter.

According to the letter Lightning was going to be considered for captain once the construction of the base was done. Although, promotion meant a bigger pay rise and more days off, not that Lightning would ever use them; it also meant more paperwork.

It was the one thing that Lightning didn't like about her work. Always preferred field work over desk work.

Perhaps she should fast track Hope into officers' training. That way he could take some of the paper load off of Lightning. He always did seem happy behind a desk.

* * *

A/N: It will be just Lightning and Daniel from here on until it isn't anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

'It appears Private Witcomb was hazed again.' Lightning thought as she read a requisition order for new uniforms including underpants, boots and shoes. 'That would explain why I saw a half naked man running across the yard before I left yesterday.'

Lightning signed the final order before stacking all of her mail into a neat pile under her keys, so not to forget them the next day.

With her work done, Lightning gently rocked Daniel back and forth in his little wooden rocker. It seemed the little infant enjoyed being rocked. Was it the rocking motion itself or was it the fact the things seemed get larger and smaller right in front of his eyes, she didn't know but figured was something worth remembering in case he became temperamental.

As she rocked her nephew, Lightning couldn't help but stroke the mop of pink hair on his head. It was the same shade of pink as his mother and aunt. It warmed Lightning's heart knowing the famous Farron hair will live on to the next generation.

Being rocked with the addition of having his hair fondled, Daniel let out a yawn, which was quickly followed by sounds Lightning didn't know she could make. Thank Etro, no one else was there. It was extremely difficult for Lightning to keep her cold act up whenever Daniel was around. That boy was just too cute for his own good.

Lightning genuinely didn't know what the fuss is about. Beside his adorable yawn Daniel hadn't made a peep. Actually, Lightning was little surprised in what kind of shape Serah had been. Sure, Lightning's female and some male co-workers had warned her, but she thought that Serah wouldn't have that problem. However if, Gran Pulse had taught her anything these past years, it was 'expect the unexpected', which is why Lightning purchased a couple of parenting books that were currently on her bed stand.

She really should have remembered to take them with her. Babysitting wasn't her thing. It was more Serah's forte. In fact before Serah turned seventeen, she had become one of the most sought after baby-sitter in Bodhum. But that was another time and another place.

Not sure what to do with herself, Lightning glanced at the pile of mail sitting on the table. Besides the complete new wardrobe for Private Witcomb, it was your typical weekly requisition orders. A few chewed up boots, ripped uniforms, lost toothbrushes and a damaged side arm. Nothing out of the ordinary. Although, damaged or lost firearms were more common after the cadets graduated from the academy.

Just like all cadets fresh out of the academy before them, they were too naive. They thought they could take on anything the world would throw at them. Interestingly even Hope had been green despite his experience. Of course, great Lightning Farron was never a greenhorn. No! She never was ambushed by a group of hedge frogs and ended up being rescued by a newly formed group called NORA. It never happened!

Lightning groaned as she remembered she was assigned to do the week long survival exercise the following month. How she hated it! There always was one hotshot who thought he was the greatest cadet of all time, and it was always a massive prick who thought he was so great because he could do hundred push-ups under two minutes. Maybe this time could she ask Fang…

Fang!

She almost completely forgot! With Snow barraging into her home, the ridiculous phone call with Serah and the drive to the store, her and Fang's daily ritual, a few drinks at Lebreau's, had slipped her mind.

Even if, it was a quiet day at the bar, which rarely happened, Lightning still wouldn't feel comfortable bring a three week old baby with her.

That only meant one thing Lightning had to cancel. It wasn't something she wanted to do. She really enjoyed her and Fang's little get together. They would spend hours talking about work or even their past if Lightning had enough to drink.

Taking her phone out of her pocket, Lightning called Fang's mobile.

Since it wasn't noon yet Fang would probably be out hunting and most likely would have her phone off meaning Lightning would have to leave a voice mail. Perhaps it was easier that way. Less guilt.

After a few rings, to Lightning's surprise, the call was answered. Fang probably left her phone at home. It wouldn't have been the first time. Or perhaps Fang didn't go hunting as unlikely as it seemed. No, it had to Vanille. The little Pulsian was no doubt at home designing new clothes for their shop, Gran Pulsian Exports.

But it wasn't Vanille's nor was it Fang's voice on the other line. "Oerba Yun Fang's phone, Mia Walker speaking." It was a young woman's voice. A young, sultry voice.

'Just hold on a tick. If Fang had left her phone at home and someone else besides Vanille answered, then that meant…' Lightning's heart fell. 'This… this… this tramp had spent the night with Fang!'

Of course, she had! Lightning could hear it in her voice. Why else would someone say Fang's full name with such glee? She probably had never thought she would be able to bag the famous Oerba Yun Fang.

That was the reason she answered the phone. She wanted everyone in town to know. Just like the others, Lightning had the misfortune of hearing about.

It had to be that two bit hussy Lightning caught staring at Fang last night.

'Why did I have to leave early?' Lightning gripped the phone tightly as images of the two in bed raced through her mind.

Actually, it was the two bit hussy's fault she left. Lightning had been getting more and more annoyed that the red haired floozy was just openly lusting over Fang that Lightning had to leave before she did something stupid like shooting the tart in the arse.

Oh how Lightning wished she had shot the bitch in the arse.

"Hello?"

Lightning calmed herself down enough to talk to the slattern. "Is Fang there?"

"No. Not at the moment. May I take a message?"

"Just tell her, I wouldn't be able to come down since I'm baby-sitting Daniel."

The sound of paper being written on was heard in the background. At least, she had the common sense to it write down. "And who's calling?"

"She'll know." With a harsh tone, Lightning ended the call. She gathered her thoughts.

At first, she had thought it was the idea of sleeping around that bothered her, she never truly understood the whole wanton behaviour, but it wasn't until recently she realised it was the idea of Fang sleeping around that upset her.

She couldn't deny that her feelings for the tall, dark and beautiful Pulsian had become more than platonic. But instead of telling Fang and ruining their friendship most likely forever, Lightning hid her feelings from the rest of the world.

If Fang wanted to be a loose woman, sleeping around with every woman she meets, then there was nothing Lightning could do. It was Fang's life. Not hers. She just wished Fang wouldn't shove it in her face or more accurately she wished other women wouldn't shove it in her face.

Noticing the sudden change in her manner, and that the rocking and caressing had stopped some time ago, Daniel watched his aunt in interest. Not enjoying this lack of attention, the little hell raiser decided something must be done, and he had the perfect excuse.

Taking in as much air as his little lungs could take, Daniel let out a deafening cry that made the battle roar of a behemoth sound nothing more than a pup's whimper.

Putting her thoughts back of her mind, Lightning tried to calm Daniel. Clearly not working, Lightning recalled Serah saying that cuddling him should do the trick.

As she picked him up, she found the bottom was softer than normal. A quick sniff confirmed her suspicions. Someone was in the dire need of a diaper change.

With Daniel crying into her ear, Lightning grabbed the package of diapers where she left them, and headed upstairs to the nursery.

Now before the arrival of Daniel, the nursery had been Serah's little pride and joy. Normally mothers would have painted the nursery light blue finding out they were having a boy, but Serah had gone with an unconventional theme. A three hundred sixty degree panorama of Gran Pulse to be precise.

Serah, Lebreau and Vanille had spent weeks painting different places in Gran Pulse onto the walls which had its only place. There was the Archylte Steppe, Mahhabara Subterra with Sulyya Springs, Oerba in its former glory and the Heaven's mountains. Somehow they were able to make the transition between the places utterly seamless.

But it was the little details that amazed Lightning. A large range of wildlife was added, and even events that had accorded were painted.

Riding across the Steppe were Serah and Snow on a velocycle which looked more like Shiva than the velocycle they used. Sazh and Dahj could be found on a chocobo in the Steppe. Hope teaching Yuj and Marqui how to ride a juggernaut in Mahhabara. In the springs Lebreau pushing Gadot into the water. Flying on a wyvern over Oerba were Fang and Vanille.

And finally, climbing up the snowy Heaven's mountains on her lonesome was Lightning with her red cape flapping against the wind. Lightning wasn't really alone when she climbed up the Vale Mountain, the fourth tallest mountain in the Heaven's. Hope, Snow and Sazh had tagged along, but half way up they got separated during a unexpected blizzard.

Two years. It had been two years since Lightning found, perhaps stumbled upon was more accurate, that damned temple in the mountains. It was the last remaining sanctuary of the Pal clan, and there they finally found the answer how to revive Fang and Vanille.

Daniel's crying brought Lightning back from memory lane.

Placing him on the changing table, Snow had to rebuild again and again until Serah was satisfied; Lightning started to follow Serah's instructions on changing his diapers.

First unbutton the bottom half of his onesies and remove the cover cloth. Two, remove soiled nappy and dispose of it carefully into the sealed bin. Three, clear his bottom with a baby wipe. Four, use the talcum powder and place new diaper. Five, place cover cloth back before buttoning up his onesie.

Quite clear instructions to follow if Lightning had breathed through her mouth instead of her nose, which was invaded by a not so pleasant aroma upon opening the soiled nappy. Trying not to suffocate from the smell, Lightning removed foul thing and rolled it up to prevent the stool - was it supposed to be runny and yellowish green in colour? - from leaking out.

Daniel seemed to enjoy the face expressions his aunt was making. Well, at least someone was a good time.

Having the nappy properly disposed of, nearly dropping it once, Lightning went on to step three which should have been easy, but no. While slightly leaning over to pull out a wipe from its container, Lightning felt her shirt becoming damper by the second. A glance down revealed a golden stream arching up to her shirt. Once again Daniel was the only one enjoying the moment.

When the waterworks had finally died down, Lightning used significantly more baby wipes than what was required of her. How could on Pulse anyone be able to use just one? The stool was downright covering Daniel's bottom, and there was no way Lightning was getting any of that on her hands.

After nearly emptying the container of baby wipes, it came to apply the powder. In her haste of snatching the bottle from the table, Lightning squeezed it just a little too tight. This resulted in a large white cloud exploding into Lightning's face.

Lightning watched as the white substance slowly settled down onto the table, the floor and Daniel, she remembered that this had to be done, according Serah, ten to twelve times a day. With a soft whimper Lightning cleared Daniel, once again, before placing a new nappy.

With the whole ordeal finally ended, there was a dry and happy infant, and a urine and powder covered adult. You didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out who got the better end of the stick.

Serah had told Lightning that Daniel would normally be hungry after having his diaper changed. Lightning looked down at her shirt. 'But first things first.'

Picking up Daniel, Lightning headed to the master bedroom to raid Serah's wardrobe for a clean shirt. Luckily, the siblings were about the same size.

Once in the bedroom, Lightning slowly lowed the infant on the middle of the unmade bed. She had to resist the urge to make the bed. Actually in Lightning's opinion the whole house was begging to be cleaned. Perhaps once Daniel falls asleep she'll tidy up it a bit.

Sorting through Serah's clothes, Lightning finally found a shirt that wasn't too pink or too purple, and it wasn't too revealing. She was seriously going to have a chat with her younger sister about her choice of clothes being a mother and all.

Happy with a clean shirt on, Lightning took her stained shirt down to the laundry room with Daniel in her arms. There she placed her shirt in the water basin to soak.

Walking towards the kitchen, Lightning felt a strange nipping feeling on her breast. Glancing down, she identified the culprit. Someone was indeed hungry. 'Sorry, but you won't be finding any milk there.'

Once in the kitchen, Lightning took the formula out of the fridge and started to prepare it. Not like the diapers, preparing the formula was straight forward.

All she had to do was sterile the bottle, provided in the package, in boiling water for five minutes, fill half of the bottle with the formula and add water. Simply, no? Yes, of course it was. It was so simple that even Snow could do it.

The only problem Lightning encountered was the baby himself. No matter, how Lightning tried to coax him to drink, Daniel just refused to feed on the odd plastic thing in front of him. Obviously, he was hungry if the constant tries of suckling on Lightning's breasts were any indications.

After nearly an hour of resisting, Daniel finally caved in. Clearly, the packaging had lied. Daniel wasn't going to be that happy, smiling baby as promised.

Even though, he only drank half of the bottle Lightning claimed it as a victory, but it was a brief victory. After successful burping him over her shoulder, Lightning placed Daniel back in the rocker.

It had happened so fast that it didn't even registry into Lightning's brain until it was too late. Daniel opened his mouth as his entire stomach content arched across the gap between him and Lightning landing on the shirt Lightning.

Lightning was definitely going to think twice before agreeing to babysit again.

* * *

A/N: Sorry of the delay. I've been extremely busy, and when I did have the time to write this, I just couldn't get the beginning right. So sorry again.

That last part was something I saw happen in an airport once. I was 100% conceived the baby was possessed by the devil. And that's why I always carry a small bottle of holy water… or as normal people call it, vodka.


End file.
